How Dodgers can get even better

Elsa/Getty ImagesThe Dodgers must make sure that Clayton Kershaw is a Dodger for life.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' ownership group, led by Mark Walters, Magic Johnson and Stan Kasten, has to be pleased with how quickly it's been able to turn the Dodgers into a legitimate World Series contender, even if it took spending more than everyone else in the industry to do it.

And while the Dodgers' World Series bid fell short in 2013, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, they can point to injuries to Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley as part of the reason they won't be visiting the White House. Had this team stayed healthy there might have been a better outcome.

That being said, there is still a lot of work ahead this offseason if the Dodgers want to bring a world championship back to Los Angeles in 2014.

Here are the issues that must be addressed this winter if the Dodgers want to take another step forward.

1. Give Kershaw a contract extension

Extending Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in baseball, is the team's top priority and it should be.

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Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com.
In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999.
After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowden_ESPN.